Mike Cagney’s eventual successor will have to decide whether to continue his focus on rapid growth. Also on the table are strategic decisions about when to go public and whether to pursue a bank charter.

The marketplace lender's application for an industrial bank charter is under fire from small banks and progressives, who say it could violate the barrier between banking and commerce and shut out middle-class and lower-income consumers.

The online lender, which focuses on high-earning millennials, is offering assurances that it will also serve Americans who make less money. But the company has not convinced critics, who say the plans are inadequate.